For a detailed example of such a system reference is made to the P1394 bus system proposed in an IEEE standard publication. A data stream represents, for example an audio signal or a video signal. In that case a transmitter station is, for example a CD player, a tuner or a video recorder and transmits such a data stream via the bus means for as long as it is in the active mode.
If the transmission capacity required for all transmitter stations simultaneously operating in the active mode is greater than the available transmission capacity of the bus means, the operation of the bus system will not be satisfactory. For example, consider the case where the data streams are subdivided into frames which can be transmitted via the bus means only after a successful arbitration procedure. If too many transmitter stations operate simultaneously in the active mode, there will be stations which lose the arbitration so often that they cannot transmit the entire data stream.
Therefore, it is desirable to control the system in such a manner that the number of transmitter stations simultaneously operating in the active mode is not too large. To this end, it is necessary for a resource control station to know how much transmission capacity is required by the various stations operating in the active mode. At the same time it should be possible for new transmitter stations to be connected to the bus means without the resource control station having to be changed.